The book rack had about 4 times as many copies of Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Homebrewing as Palmer’s How to Brew!
I asked the LHBS dude if they sold more of Papazian’s book- and he told me they sold far more copies than HTB. This surprised me as my assumption was that it went the other way.
Almost bought a 3rd edition; wish my old dog-eared copy from 1993 hadn’t been sold back in 2002. Think I might have got 20 cents at Half-Price Books for it. Some interesting recipes in the 1st edition that I’d like to try that don’t appear to be in the third.
I don’t know euge, if you go to another brew shop, it could be the opposite. The people at the shop are probably more familiar with Papazian’s book (it was my first brewing book 20 years ago) than Palmer’s so they feel comfortable selling it. My company, for fun, sells pellet bbq’s. Each of my employees prefer a different model grill therefore when talking to people recommend a different model. I wish they would try to sell the same one for inventory purposes but oh well…
Charlie’s book may have sold more since it was first published, current cover says >1million copies, and it is published by Harper Collins. HtB was the highest selling book in the Brewers Publication catalogue. 3 or 4 years ago, Kristi Switzer stated it had sold over 60,000 copies. Has to be over 100k now with the huge growth of the hobby.
Nov. 2014. And in all modesty ( ) I’ve got to say that it’s shaping up to be one of the most comprehensive, yet different, brewing books I’ve ever seen. Kind of an anti-How to Brew. We don’t tell you how to brew…we give you the options and tools to decide for yourself.
Stan H’s BLAM is great, I agree. He has Tomme Arthur’s double in there, if I recall correctly (raisin addition in the fermenter- I did them in the boil - Doh!). Great stuff.
I can’t wait for Denny and Drew’s collaborative effort and FWIW, I did CP’s Claude of Neptune 2 as revised by CP in the December Zymurgy, IIRC. It is lagering in secondary with dry hops as I write this…can’t wait to sample it in a couple weeks.
I actually think Charlie’s book is a great read for beginners. Even the outdated books. It really has a way if inspiring brewing creativity. The recipes where a blast to read and I used to thumb through them over and over again when I first hit into brewing looking for ideas. It may have been outdated compared to HTB but the techniques made very good beer and there was a creative spirit there that was unquenchable.
+1. The RDWHAHB cliche really is really great advice for new brewers. The whole tone of the book is fun, exciting, and well…relaxing to the nerves of somebody brewing for the first time. I’ll never forget how much I enjoyed reading it cover to cover. I was like a kid at Christmas when I realized "I can do this s#$^ " !
Exactly. What a welcoming introduction to the hobby. I remember reading that thing voraciously, feeling like I could conquer the world! Sipping that first homebrew (Elbro Nerkte’s Brown Ale) was unforgettable. The Sparrow Hawk Porter was wicked good too. Did anybody ever actually brew the Goat Scrotum Ale? :o
I think Joy of Homebrewing is a good place for any new brewer even if it is chock full of dated info because it does such a good job of giving the impression that making good beer is within reach. I wish somebody would take his attitude and scope of information and filter it through accurate and current homebrewing knowledge.
For the first decade I read, and re-read Charlie P’s books religiously…and then, as my experience mounted, I didn’t use the book at all. I eventually moved on to Daniels’ Designing Great Beers, and then I think that info got a little stale (in the second decade), and desperately needs an update. I recently got a copy of Palmer’s book as a gift, and I couldn’t stay focused…it isn’t that it isn’t good info, but still pretty basic. I am sure there are nuggets in there, but I lose interest. I feel like I am half way between the two in my philosophy anyway(that is what brewing is, ultimately, philosophy on a bunch of a priori and a posteriori prepositions). There is also the battle between the art and science, the free form movement of American Homebrewing and the BJCP style guide, but it is changing so fast, a regularly published book can not keep up with all of us, though I wish it could. The internet and this forum works wonders, however.
I still have my original copy of The New Complete Joy…I should try to read it again…but fear the worst.
Never brewed it but a coworker did. Heroic effort. Definitely different. Can’t remember the special ingredient, isn’t it juniper berries? Made me think of the old man in Life of Brian.
) I’ve got to say that it’s shaping up to be one of the most comprehensive, yet different, brewing books I’ve ever seen. Kind of an anti-How to Brew. We don’t tell you how to brew…we give you the options and tools to decide for yourself.